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ISSUE 51
AQSA NEWS
Art exhibition Gaza refugee camps
By Sarah Irving • Page 6
Friends of Al-Aqsa newspaper since 1997
Israeli soldiers kidnapped
Ex-Ambassador
FEBRUARY 2013
The need to
900 children condemns boycott Israel in 2012 is growing Page 2 Israel Page 4 Page 19
Israel steps up pressure on Al-Aqsa Sanctuary Palestinians call for Solidarity amid increasing attacks and trespasses. Israeli elections have ushered in openly hostile agendas against Al-Aqsa. Israel continues to strip Palestinian architectural heritage from the surrounding area. Jerusalem Awqaf trust reports serious concerns about future safety of Al-Aqsa. In recent months, under the cover of turmoil in the Middle East, the Al-Aqsa Association for Waqf and Heritage have reported an increase in the number of occasions Israeli troops and extremist settlers have intruded upon the sacred al-Aqsa Sanctuary. These attacks are becoming increasingly fanatical, and they are intended to undermine the centuries old Palestinian heritage within the holy Sanctuary. The grave fear is that Israel will obstruct Palestinian access to this pivotal place of worship entirely, before implementing plans to demolish the historic, UNESCO protected sites on the plaza and replace it with a Temple. On 7 February 2013, over one hundred Israeli soldiers stormed the Sanctuary in a threatening show of strength against Palestin-
Inside...
ians. Since then, incursions have been reported at least twice a week. It is feared that this will set a precedence and lead to attacks on the sanctuary grounds and the Palestinian worshippers becoming a norm. Ismail Patel, Chair of FOA stated: “Such trespasses can be likened in Britain to a mosque being stormed by the EDL who show open hostility towards Muslim worshipper. The illegal settlers are aggressive and violent and dismiss rightful Palestinian claims to the holy Sanctuary, although centuries old. The rule of law is irrelevant as far as these extremists are concerned.” Daily updates on the situation within the al-Aqsa sanctuary are available on the FOA website: www.foa.org.uk 240 Israeli military assaults, no charges
Stripping Jerusalem of Palestinian heritage Israel’s relentless drive to ‘Judaise’ Jerusalem and strip it of its centuries of Islamic and Christian heritage has escalated in the last year. In early 2013, a project commenced 50 meters away from the Sanctuary Walls Recipe
close to the Western Wall. Here, Israeli diggers have stripped away buildings dating back to the Mamluk era over 600 years ago. The plan is to build a synagogue in its place. Water crisis in Gaza
Review - The Gatekeepers
Special Feature
Operation Pillar of Cloud 2
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INSIDE PALESTINE
Israeli soldiers kidnapped 900 children in 2012 The Palestinian Ministry Of Detainees reported that 900 Palestinian children were kidnapped by Israeli soldiers in 2012, compared with 700 in the previous year. Israel applies Military Order 132 to justify the appalling kidnap and interrogation of Palestinian children from the age of 12. Similar to detained adults, Palestinian children are deprived of their basic and internationally guaranteed rights; their families and lawyers are not granted any information about their location and in most cases not given the reason behind their arrest. Israel also treats the kidnapped Palestinian children as “terrorist to be” and uses illegal measures, torture and abuse against them, including sleep deprivation, depriving them from family and lawyer visits, food and water deprivation and sexual harassment. Children are also coerced into becoming Israeli spies through such illegal and condemnable measures. Despite the documentation of such widespread illegal detention and torture of Palestinian children, the international community has failed to intervene.
Fatah and Hamas meet in Egypt
President Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Meshaal met face-to-face in Egypt for the first time in over a year to discuss how to implement their 2011 deal for a unified Palestinian effort. An Egyptian official said discussions to find ways to do so had been held in a “positive spirit”. The opposing political parties have drawn closer since Israel’s assault on Gaza in November, in which Hamas claimed victory, and a diplomatic win by Abbas
240 Israeli military assaults, no charges
the same month in which the United Nations voted to recognise Palestine as a “non-member state”. In January 2013, Fatah supporters held a rally in the Gaza Strip to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of Fatah. The month before, supporters of Hamas celebrated their movement’s founding with a rally in the West Bank and Fatah was present in Gaza for Hamas’s 25 year anniversary celebrations.
Israel withholds vital tax revenues to punish Palestinians
Israel has withheld vital tax revenues due to the Palestinian Authority to the value of $120 million, following the granting of ‘non observer status’ to Palestine at the UN General Assembly. This step was intended to punish Palestinians for their victory at the UN. The funds seized will have a huge impact on an already precarious financial situation in the West Bank, which is enduring a severe economic crisis.
A human rights group based in Israel has documented 240 cases of abuse against Palestinians perpetrated by Israeli soldiers, yet not one single complaint resulted in a prosecutable charge. ‘Yesh Din’ accused the
Israeli military of civilian abuse and detailed 240 complaints it had received in 2012 alone. It conducted 103 probes related to the complaints and found that not one single indictment was made of a single soldier. The military response to the
report stated that not all of the probes have concluded, so it is possible there may be a charge at some point. However, this seems unlikely based on past practice. Meanwhile, Israeli violence against Palestinians remains a daily occurrence,
even within cities such as Ramallah which is under full Palestinian administrative and security control. Israeli forces regularly carry out raids in the city and its surroundings areas.
Britain tells Israel: West Bank settlements are illegal and unacceptable
The Israeli ambassador to Britain was summoned to a meeting with Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt. At the meeting, Mr Burt expressed opposition to the Israeli decision to implement the E1 plan for
further illegal settlement buildings in the West Bank. A Foreign Office spokesman has said “We have told the Israeli government that if they go ahead with their decision, then there will be a strong reaction.”
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INSIDE PALESTINE
Illegal raid on Palestinian human rights NGO Israel has stormed and ransacked the offices in Ramallah of the Palestinian human rights association Addameer. In the raid, Israel stole four laptops, one hard disk and a video camera from Addameer’s office. Israeli soldiers also raided the offices of the Agricultural Work Committees and the Union of Palestinian Wom-
en’s Committees, located in Qaddura refugee camp. Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association is a Palestinian non-governmental, civil institution that works to support Palestinian political prisoners held in Israeli and Palestinian prisons. Established in 1992 by a group of activists interested
in human rights, the centre offers free legal aid to political prisoners, advocates their rights at the national and international level, and works to end torture and other violations of prisoners’ rights through monitoring, legal procedures and solidarity campaigns.
Palestinian protest village destroyed within 48 hours
Water crisis in Gaza
In an important report written by Sawsan Ramahi called ‘the Health Risks Posed by Water Pollution in the Gaza Strip’, a number of worrying facts have emerged: As a result of Operation Cast Lead, $6million of damage was caused to the water sector. Three water wells were completely destroyed, ten others were partially damaged, components of the water network system in areas east of the Jabaliyah Refugee Camp and in the south of the Strip were destroyed alongside treatment plants in the Sheikh
Ajleen area to the south west of Gaza City. The amount of water consumed in Gaza per person is approximately 80 litres a day, far below the recommended 150 litres per person per day as an absolute minimum advised by the World Health Organisation. The majority of the available drinking water is salty and contaminated to varying degrees with toxic organic and inorganic substances. Residents are obliged to purchase desalinated water from small desalination plants admin-
Israel is continuing on all fronts with the Judaisation of Jerusalem. The latest steps include imposing new Hebrew names for streets and historical places in the old city of Jerusalem, which have for centuries been known by their original Arabic names. The old Christian and Islamic names of streets and historical sites, which reflect their heritage, are being replaced with new Hebrew names in order to
create confusion in people’s minds about the rightful claims to the area. By taking these deliberate steps, Israel hopes to create a new and fabricated heritage and sovereignty over east Jerusalem. Both Muslim and Christian authorities in Jerusalem are alarmed at these latest Israeli actions. They are calling on international bodies including UNESCO to intervene.
Judaisation of Jerusalem continues unabated
istered by merchants and contractors. The majority of these do not meet health standards, while the vast majority of residents shower with salt water. It is believed that 50% of diseases in the Gaza Strip are the result of contaminated water. Amongst the illnesses and diseases caused by contaminated water are cancer, skin disease, acute diarrhoea, viral hepatitis, haemorrhagic gastroenteritis, acute kidney poisoning and various degrees of liver and heart damage.
A make-shift ‘village’ encampment was erected by Palestinian protesters in the West Bank in order to impede Israeli efforts to expand its illegal settlements. The creation of Bab al-Shams followed six weeks after Netanyahu announced plans to press ahead with the development of the E1 illegal settlements, which drew international condemnation. The area, measuring around 12 sq km, lies between Jerusalem and the vast West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Adumim. An Israeli Supreme Court injunction prohibited the removal of the protestors, who were on the land with permission of the Palestinian landowners.
Netanyahu demanded that the court over turn its injunction, and then ordered nearly a thousand troops to enter the site in the early hours of the morning. The troops attacked the 200 Palestinian protestors and removed them from the Palestinian land. The land has now been stolen from the landowners, labelled as a ‘closed military zone’. This is the usual step taken by Israel before it begins illegal settlement building on stolen land. Most observers including western diplomats say the development of E1 settlement plan will damage the prospects of a viable Palestinian state by cutting the West Bank off from East Jerusalem, which is in-
tended to be the future capital of a Palestinian state. Palestinian legislator Mustafa Barghouti, who was among those arrested, said the eviction was “proof that the Israeli government operates an apartheid system. Firstly, it decided that Supreme Court decisions do not apply to Palestinians. And secondly, there are more than 120 Israeli Jewish only outposts in the West Bank that are illegal even under Israeli law. Not only are they still there, but they are expanding and they are being legalised one after another. We were there for less than 48 hours, and the state used violent force against a nonviolent peaceful resistance movement.”
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GLOBAL NEWS
Cliff Richard to perform in Israel Following an announcement that Cliff Richard would be performing in Israel again, campaigners have written an open letter asking him to reconsider. The letter outlines the reasons why, as a Christian, he should reconsider playing in Israel, including Israel’s racist actions which are opposed by numerous church leaders all over the world. They drew Sir Cliff’s attention to a letter written by fifteen senior Christian leaders in the US telling Congress: ‘As leaders of churches and religious organisations committed to seeking a just peace for Israelis and Palestinians...it is our moral responsibility to question the continuance of unconditional U.S. financial assistance to the government of Israel’.
UN calls on Israel to open up nuclear arsenal for inspection
US Aid to Palestine stalled at Congress Following the admission of Palestine as a nonMember observer state at the UN, the US congress has stopped the transfer of $495 million in aid promised to Palestine. While this figure is only a fraction of the aid given to Israel, it is significant to the Palestinians. The block on transfer is seen as a ‘punishment’ for Palestine’s unilateral steps at the UN.
The UN General Assembly has overwhelming approved a resolution which calls on Israel to open its nuclear programme for inspection “without further delay” by the International
Atomic Energy Agency. Israel’s stockpiling of nuclear weapons is an open secret which has long been cited by experts as a serious cause of concern and tension in the Middle East.
Ex-Ambassador condemns Israel
A spokeswoman for the US State Department has made it clear that there are people within the Department who are working hard to ensure the funds are transferred as soon as possible. However, it is clear that pro-Israeli Members of Congress are seeking to make this as difficult as possible.
Al-Aqsa replica to be built in Sri Lanka The government in Sri Lanka has announced that a replica of the al-Aqsa Masjid will be built in the province of Kattankudy. The project was announced on 10th February 2013, as part of a
plan to promote the equality of all major Sri Lankan faiths, and will include the building of three other places of worship - a Temple, a Kovil and a Church.
Israeli hardliners advocate destruction of Al-Aqsa
Respected and influential British diplomat Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles has condemned the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Sir Sherard made his comments in a speech to the Conservative Middle East Council. ‘I say this as a Hebrew speaking, former ambassador to Israel, someone who has deep affection for the
Jewish people. I believe passionately that Israel on its present course, is embarked on a pathway to assisted suicide: suicide assisted by the Congress of the United States. The idea that this problem can be solved by walling up the Palestinians in the Middle Eastern equivalent of the Bantustans, which the South African
government embarked on in the 1940s, is not only offensive morally, it is deeply out of keeping with everything we know of human history. It will not work, it cannot work, it should not work. And anyone who has a real affection for the Jewish people will want to help them avoid this looming disaster.’
The Conservative party enjoys a close relationship with Israel (80% of Conservative MPs are members of Conservative Friends of Israel). Sir Sherard’s comments are hugely significant as they reflect how even those who are sympathetic to Israel’s cause are now speaking out against Israel.
Hardline Israeli politician Moshe Feiglin recently gave a speech in which he supported threats to destroy the Al-Aqsa sanctuary. The comments were made in a keynote speech at the Temple Institute, an organisation whose openly hostile intent against al-Aqsa raise concerns. On its website, the Temple Institute declares that it is: ‘dedicated to every aspect of the Biblical commandment to build the Holy Temple of G-d on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem...The major focus of the Institute is its efforts towards the beginning of the actual rebuilding of the Holy Temple. Towards this end, the Institute has begun to restore and construct the sacred vessels for the service of the
Holy Temple.’ Feiglin is banned from entering the United Kingdom due to a decision by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, made public in March 2008, excluding Feiglin on the grounds that his presence in the country “would not be conducive to the public good.” A letter to Feiglin from the Home Office said that Smith justified her decision as his activities “foment or justify terrorist violence in furtherance of particular beliefs; seek to provoke others to terrorist acts; foment other serious criminal activity or seek to provoke others to serious criminal acts and foster hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the UK.”
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GLOBAL NEWS
Palestinians seek justice over illegal settlements At Palestine’s first address to the UN Security Council since its upgraded status last November, Foreign Minister Riad Malki has indicated that Palestine wishes to pursue legal action at the International Criminal Court against Israel for illegal settlement building in East Jerusalem. Israel has announced plans to illegally build 1,500 more homes in East Jerusalem as part of the E1 expansion plan. The notorious project was announced by Israel in response to the UN General Assembly’s decision to grant non-member observer status to Palestinians. The illegal settlement will close off East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and further split the West Bank into two cantons.
‘NO’ to UEFA Under-21 Championships in Israel
Britain says two-state solution almost dead The prospects of a twostate solution are almost dead because of expanding Jewish settlement in occupied territory, Britain has said and also warned Israel it was losing international support. The comments were made on the day of the Israeli elections. Although Netanyahu’s votes diminished somewhat from the previous elections, there is still substantial support in Israeli to continue illegal settlement building on Palestinian land which Palestinians need to establish statehood. Foreign Secretary William Hague said “I condemn recent Israeli decisions to expand settlements. I speak regularly to Israeli leaders stressing our profound concern that Israel’s settle-
ment policy is losing it the support of the international community and will make a two-state solution impossible.” Hague also added that “if we do not make progress in the coming year, people will increasingly conclude that a two-state solution has become impossible”.
David Ward MP made to apologise over Holocaust comments David Ward MP apologised for his use of terminology when he stated he was “saddened that the Jews, who suffered unbelievable levels of persecution during the Holocaust, could within a few years of liberation from the death camps be inflicting atrocities on Palestinians in the new State of Israel and continue to do so on a daily basis in the West Bank and Gaza”. The point of contention was the use of the word ‘the Jews’, and he has since apologised unreservedly for any offence caused, stat-
ing: “I never for a moment intended to criticise or offend the Jewish people as a whole, either as a race or as a people of faith, and apologise sincerely for the unintended offence which my words caused.” His apology does not
30th MARCH - 14th APRIL
detract from the sentiment expressed which intended to draw attention to the memory of the Holocaust, which all nations of the world vowed would ‘never again’ occur. This ‘never again’ applies to all people of all races, religions and nationalities, for all time. David Ward MP reiterated that his criticisms “of actions since 1948 in the Palestinian territories in the name of the state of Israel remain as strong as ever”. This is a legitimate position, supported wholly by a large part of the British public.
EASTER - AL AQSA MASJID & UMRAH - 15 DAYS THE THREE HARAMS - 5 DAYS EACH
The UEFA under-21 Championship is scheduled to be played from June 5-18 in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Netanya and Petach Tikva. Three of the stadiums are built on the sites of former Palestinian villages, which were ethnically cleansed of their Palestinian populations. The decision to allow Israel to host the championship is being protested as Israel does not allow Palestinian sportsmen and women the freedom to pursue their sporting interests and therefore, it is argued that it should not be allowed to host such a
prestigious championship. Israel bombed the ‘Palestine Stadium’ in Gaza City, on 1 April 2006, and again on 19 November 2012. The bombing of the stadium had no military purpose, and was intended solely to impede Palestinian sportsmen from continuing their games. Thus, protestors argue that Israel should not be allowed to continue its participation in international sports while simultaneously denying Palestinians the same right. In November 2012, dozens of leading footballers signed a statement
protesting UEFA’s decision to hold the tournament in Israel. Sixty-two players, including Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, Arsenal’s Abou Diaby and Paris SaintGermain’s Jeremy Menez, stated that Israel hosting the tournament will be “seen as a reward for actions that are contrary to sporting values.” FOA strongly opposes UEFA’s decision to allow Israel to host the European Under-21 Championship and calls for everyone to join the ‘red card against Israeli racism’ campaign: http://redcardapartheid.weebly.com/
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Art Exhibition
Gaza refugee camps
Palestinian contemporary art shown in London Gaza refugee camps portrayed as vibrant and vulnerable
From Mohammed al-Hawajri’s “Soul & Fragrance” series. (Image courtesy of Arts Canteen)
...but the hands brandishing the ID cards are slender and beautiful, and the darkness of the figure is juxtaposed against a background of floral patterns, like a mother’s housedress or a little girl’s bedroom.
Playing with images Tayseer Barakat and Raed Issa tackle the subject of refugee camps. Their work draws on their experiences of life in Jabaliya and al-Bureij camps in Gaza. But where Barakat’s camp is portrayed as an ethereal, misty world in pinks and grays, beautiful at a distance but impersonal and anonymous, Issa’s is composed of blocks of striking colour, with clear blue skies above and welcome shade between the houses and, in every image, always a green tree sprouting from the close-packed homes. The arrays of satellite dishes on the rooftops hint at the electronic means which many Palestinians must resort to for contact with the outside world, while the black plastic water-tanks are both vital for life and a frequent target for Israeli soldiers. Mohammed Joha’s “Who Am I?” (Image courtesy of Arts Canteen) Gaza-born Mohammed Joha’s large canvases, meanwhile, play with images and references to ask questions about identity and free-
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These artists have all the right in the world to be on a platform, to have their work seen with dignity, like any other artists
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“These artists have all the right in the world to be on a platform, to have their work seen with dignity, like any other artists,” said Aser El Saqqa, a curator of an exhibition of Palestinian paintings recently displayed in Britain. Born and raised in Gaza, El Saqqa is justly proud of Despite, as the exhibition at the Richmix Arts Centre in east London was called. He assembled this collection, along with Nicola Gray and the organization Arts Canteen. Despite has been an important exhibition for many reasons. It is probably one
of the largest collections of art from Gaza ever shown, at least outside the Middle East. Nine of the sixteen artists represented at the December show are still based in Gaza. “Yes, getting some of the works here was a challenge,” El Saqqa stated. But it was also imperative that the show included work from painters in the West Bank , the Galilee and Jerusalem. “All parts of Palestine,” he added. The show has also been significant in displaying the breadth and quality of contemporary Palestinian painting. Some of the
Tayseer Barakat’s painting of a Gaza refugee camp. (Image courtesy of Arts Canteen)
best-known Palestinian artists - Emily Jacir, Larissa Sansour - mainly work in photography, installation and conceptual pieces. Despite illustrated the range of talent - both new, such the youthful Dina Mattar, and established, such as Hani Zurob - using more conventional media, but with a great variation of visions and methods.
It is probably one of the largest collections of art from Gaza ever shown, at least outside the Middle East. Mohammed Joha’s “Who Am I?”
dom. In “Behind the Wall,” a bright blue car with a pink parachute appears to have risen up above the ominous black wall. Or is it preparing to do so? Is it trying to escape, or has it already managed? And are the puffs of white smoke beyond it the remnants of a phosphorous burst, from one of the slowly-descending bombs which the parachute might also refer to? Joha’s “Who Am I?” features a figure with a black hat pulled down low and the shirt collar pulled up; we assume from the clothes that it is a man, but the hands brandishing the ID card are slender and beautiful, and the darkness of the figure is juxtaposed against a background of floral patterns, like a mother’s housedress or a little girl’s bedroom. The painting is another point in a long history of artistic representations of the ambiguous, constraining significance of ID cards in Palestinian life, perhaps the best known example being Mahmoud Darwish’s poem “Write Down … I Am An Arab.”
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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Stubborn cactus the still-lifes of Mohammed Abusal. His “lights” series, ranging from wedding lanterns to domestic lamps, hint at the importance of light, from celebrations to Gaza’s daily power cuts. A huge pink prickly pear cactus indicates that the plant is, among other things, a marker of destroyed Palestinian villages and a symbol of resilience and stubbornness bringing forth sweet fruit even without water. “I like to think of it as a place where unwanted things like snakes can take refuge,” El Saqqa explained. Abusal grows dozens of these cacti on the roof of his Gaza City home, so that he can observe them throughout the seasons.
Nidal Abu Oun’s “The Fisherman’s Daughter”. (Image courtesy of Arts Canteen)
“One person who came to the launch of the exhibition asked, ‘but where is the Palestinian flag?’” said El Saqqa
Each of these paintings, and the others in the exhibition, echo his response —
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it’s in every canvas
Review
From Mohammed Abusal’s “lights” series. (Image courtesy of Arts Canteen)
Raed Issa’s “Satellites.” (Images courtesy of Arts Canteen)
The Gatekeepers February 2013 (US) April 2013 (UK)
Produced in 2012, The Gatekeepers is a documentary film about Israel’s notorious Shin Bet internal secret security branch. Directed by Dror Moreh, it analyses the role of the Shin Bet in Israeli security and the future of the Zionist state. Despite its frank exposure of Israel’s deep-rooted flaws, it has been nominated for Best Documentary feature at the 2013 Academy Awards. The central theme in the film is the interviews with six former leaders of the Shin Bet, each of whom headed the organisation for years at a time. A clear message that each of these men sends is that Israel
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A number of the less figurative works in the exhibition use Arabic script as a motif. Majed Shala’s works in vibrant oranges, red and blues feature vague human forms composed of torn-up pieces of Arabic calligraphy. The titles — “Exposed,” “Dialogue,” “Motherhood under siege” — refer to aspects of Palestinian life. Nabil Anani and Mohammed al-Hawajri’s images also take calligraphy, combining it with decorative elements and classical Arabic artistic motifs to situate Palestinian art within the long traditions of the wider Arab world and culture. Very far from these contemporary takes on ancient Arabic styles are
Subtle Also deeply evocative of Gaza life is Nidal Abu Oun’s “The Fisherman’s Daughter,” with its Salvador Dali-inspired vivid colors and precise brushwork. In classic surrealist style the images are allusive and multi-layered; the daughter is fused into her latticework chair, from which a heavilypregnant belly protrudes. A basket of fish sits by her, in front of — what? The sea, or water pouring from a cracked wall, from which a dry tap pokes out? The girl and her homely surroundings have a sense of stillness and patience, but is it the terrible patience of the
woman who never knows if her men folk will return from their dangerous work? “One person who came to the launch of the exhibition asked, ‘but where is the Palestinian flag?’” said El Saqqa. Each of these paintings, and the others in the exhibition, echo his response — “it’s in every canvas.” While the occupation forces every Palestinian to be “political” in some sense by their very insistence on life, Despite has shown that Palestine’s artists can negotiate and explore those politics in a myriad of different and subtle ways.
Sarah Irving is a freelance writer. She worked with the International Solidarity Movement in the occupied West Bank in 2001-02 and with Olive Co-op, promoting fair trade Palestinian products and solidarity visits, in 200406. She is the author of a biography of Leila Khaled, Leila Khaled, Icon of Palestinian Liberation, and the Bradt Guide to Palestine, and she was also co-author, with Sharyn Lock, of Gaza: Beneath the Bombs.
The Gatekeepers
Images courtesy of IMDb.com must end the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank for its own survival. The film is divided into seven ‘chapters’ and covers a broad spectrum of events and ideas including the emergence of the shin Bet amid the scattered ashes of the 6 Day War when the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza began. Issues such as assassinations of Palestinian leaders, the use
of torture and the consequences of ‘collateral damage’ are all covered. Personal confessions from the men responsible for much of the misery the Shin Bet created for Palestinians provides unique access into the mind of Israel’s so called ‘security’ apparatus. What we find there is unexpected. Avraham Shalom states, “On the other hand it’s a
brutal occupation force, similar to the Germans in World War II. Similar, not identical.” Yaakov Peri states, “These moments end up etched deep inside you, and when you retire, you become a bit of a leftist.” Such frank admissions reflect the depth of the interviews and the openness of the men who were charged with fighting Palestinian resistance, who have in some ways, come to realise the magnitude of their crimes. The film utilises archival footage as well as computer-generated imagery. The Gatekeeper was released in the US in early February and is due for UK release on 13 April 2013.
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UPDATE FROM FRIENDS OF AL AQSA
“You shall be free indeed when your days are not without a care nor your nights without a want and a grief, But rather when these things girdle your life and yet you rise above them unbound.” There has been a dangerous and concerning rise in racism towards Palestinians and violations of al-Aqsa Santuary in the past few months. While we continue to compress the Palestinian issue to one of charity, Israeli extremists are continuing with their expansionist programme. We are failing to understand that the issue of al-Aqsa is a battle for internationally recognised rights, independence and freedom; which requires direct political actions. We cannot shirk from our moral responsibility to bring freedom to the occupied people of Palestine. Freedom is not a euphemism, it is a call to action. Freedom demands we struggle against the obstacles of oppression. Despite all the creation of confusing ‘narratives’ by Israel, we must be certain of the facts and continue to relay them.
Commemorating 15 years of campaigning
Freedom demands that we have a vision; to increase the concern for al-Aqsa and bring it to the attention of our families, the great British people and anyone who genuinely strives to seek justice Freedom demands that we have a strategy; of long-term and short-term projects; boycotting, lobbying, educating and showing solidarity with the Palestinians by meeting their basic as well as long term needs.
Freedom demands we sacrifice; more than our financial resources we must also sacrifice our time in the effort to liberate Palestine and Masjid al-Aqsa. Ismail Patel
Follow on Twitter: @Ismailadampatel
Dewsbury & Batley update
The branch held a very successful activity session for Heckmondwike Ansaar cub scouts. The children were aged 7 to 10 are taking part in a charity event called ‘Gaza Winter Walk’ to raise money for psychosocial and medical support in Gaza. The activity session as intended to instil in them a greater understanding of the situation in Gaza so that they knew what a difference
FOA Anniversary Event
they could make. The session helped the children understand why they were raising funds, and required them to present the issues effecting people in Gaza and state how we can help. The session was very beneficial and the children were able to think of different ways to help the Palestinians. This presentation will help the children get their Scouts World Badge.
In November 2012, FOA marked 15 years of campaigning for peace in Palestine. A 3 course dinner, speeches and an auction were held at the Platinum Suite in Leicester, attended by 600 guests. The event was a huge success and a timely reminder that the struggle must go on until Palestinians are no longer under occupation, and Masjid al-Aqsa is liberated.
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UPDATE FROM FRIENDS OF AL AQSA
London update Time Raiser In early February, FOA London held its inaugural time-raiser dinner at Jungle Braai restaurant in London. This was a unique event, where the purpose was not to raise money, but rather to give an opportunity for people to pledge their time to do something for Palestine. A number of FOA projects for 2013 were presented to the audience , with guests having the opportunity to pledge some time to helping complete the project. Tasks people could pledge time towards
ranged from working on social media to organising events. Roselin Uddin attended the time-raiser, and commented on Facebook , ‘I had such a fantastic night! It was my first time to such an event, felt so welcomed.. met some very sincere and humble people, very informative.’ FOA’S Shamiul Joarder said ‘We had people from North, East, South and West London at the timeraiser. There was a great energy in the room and everyone had great ideas along with the willingness to deliver them.’
FOA Leicester UPDATE: Olive Trees Campaign With the help of many of our supporters, FOA participated in an olive tree planting project in Palestine. This income generating project involved the planting of tress to provide a sustainable solutions to economic problems faced by Palestinians. Olive trees are an integral part of Palestinian life. Many of the poorest people rely on the harvest of Olive Trees to supplement their income. Olive trees grow at a rate of 1-2 feet each year and if given the freedom to flourish, they will live an average of 400 years. This means one olive tree can provide a steady income for entire generations, literally benefiting thousands of people. During a successful harvest the olive industry has the potential of making around 15-19% of agricultural production in Palestine each year. This equates to around £104£123 million. As the coun-
try’s main export, olive tree farming has the potential to produce great levels of national income and therefore strengthen local economies lifting poor Palestinian families out of poverty. The trees are planted at a year old – at 2 years old they will start fruition and at 3 years of they will be ready for cultivation.
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FOA ONLINE SHOP Travel prayer mat & Tasbeeh
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Outcomes
With the donation for the people of Leicester we have been able to: • replant olive trees which had previously been uprooted • provide a source of income for local people • help Palestinians to hold onto their land • preserve the land and environment in Palestine
Made in Palestine Kufiyeh Also available in other colours
£7.50
Acres of Land planted: 91 No of Trees per farmer: 20 No of olive trees distributed: 1815
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SPECIAL FEATURE
Operation Pillar of Cloud
Israel bombs Gaza again, and targets food production
BBC Arabic photo journalist Jihad Masharawi and his baby son Omar, who was killed by an Israeli bomb
Operation Pillar of Cloud, November 2012
FOA Report
Attack on food production
Attacks on Gaza before November 14
Israeli policies in Gaza are ensuring that Gazans are gravely concerned about their food security so that any other prospect of economic advancement becomes impossible. Bombing raids attack the food production abilities within the Gaza Strip, and the result has been that Gazans face endemic malnutrition. The siege of Gaza (eased only marginally by the opening of the Rafah crossing, which allows the passage of people but not goods) has meant that Gazans live with the daily battle of getting enough food to feed their families.
Israel launched “Operation Pillar of Cloud” against Gaza on 14 November 2012. The military offensive lasted for seven days before a ceasefire was negotiated. Israel began its attack by killing leading Palestinian negotiator Ahmed al-Jaabari. Labelled in the media as a terrorist leader, Al-Jaabari had in fact been pivotal to maintaining the peace between Hamas and Israel, and he was also in-
strumental in securing the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. During the seven day attack, the Israeli forces bombed more than 1,500 sites in the Gaza Strip, most of which were civilian targets. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has said that 158 Palestinians were killed during the operation, of whom 30 were children.
The agricultural sector is already deeply troubled after six years of siege, and this is made worse each time a bombing campaign begins. In the first five days of the attack alone, the Minisry of Agriculture in Gaza estimated that a US $50 million loss was sustained by the agriculture and fishing sectors in Gaza.
The attack on Gaza was only an escalation of continuing daily attacks by Israeli forces. The daily reality for Palestinians is life with very little security. The killing of Gazans by Israeli fire power is an appalling norm. In November alone, Israeli soldiers shot and killed an unarmed 20-year-old Palestinian simply because he was close to a fence near Gaza’s side of the border with Israel. On 6 November, Israel attacked targets in the Gaza Strip, wounding five people,
including four children. The Israeli strike damaged a mosque and a water tower. On 10 November, the IDF shelled civilian targets in the Sa’ajiya area and four teenagers, aged 16 to 18, were killed by an Israeli airstrike in a sports stadium while they played football. These facts reflect the true nature of Israel’s relationship with the Palestinians in Gaza, and go some way to putting the number of rocket attacks coming from Gaza into context.
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SPECIAL FEATURE
As a result of the Israeli aggression on Gaza protests, demonstrations and solidarity marches were arranged all over the West Bank
Attack on Shoruq Media Tower
The bombed home of the Al-Dalu family, killing 10 members of the family including five children
The Massacre of the Al-Dalu family One of the most dreadful incidents that occurred during the Israeli assault on Gaza was the massacre of the Al-Dalu family. On 18 November 2012, in the Nasser neighbourhood of Gaza, an IDF missile destroyed the civilian family home of Jamal Mahmoud Yassin al-Dalu, 52, killing twelve people: ten of his family members, including five children and an elderly woman, plus two of the family’s neighbours, including another elderly woman. This was the highest death toll of any single strike during the Operation. Several nearby houses were also destroyed in the attack. Jamal al-Dalu said: “They didn’t give us a warning. They just hit the house with the children in it. My daughters were in their youth. What did they do to them?” The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights called the strike “blatant targeting of civilians”. Human Rights Watch called the massacre a “disproportionate” use of force and a war crime, and called for the perpetrators of the strike to be punished and the surviving members of victims’ families to be compensated. Israel has made no such move.
Israel attacked the Shoruq media tower, in which numerous journalists were housed. The attack killed a two year old child, a Palestinian cameraman and wounded ten media workers. The attack was condemned by Reporters With-
out Borders. Christophe Deloire, secretary-general of RWB, said “Attacks on civilian targets are war crimes and serious violations of the Geneva Conventions. Those responsible must be identified.”
Solidarity protests were held across the West Bank during the attack and protestors were brutally obstructed by the Israelis. On 18 November, 31-year-old Rushdi al-Tamimi was participating in a demonstration in Nabi Saleh and was killed by Israeli fire. Thousands attended his funeral and were fired upon with rubber bullets and tear gas by Israeli forces. By 19 November, over 50 Palestinians were reported injured during solidarity protests held in East Jerusalem, Ramallah,
Bethlehem, Beit Ummar and Qalandia. Further protests and clashes occurred throughout the West Bank on 21–22 November. The IDF closed the entrance to Bani Naim after clashes between them and the town’s residents. Meanwhile the northern West Bank village of al-Jalama was declared “a closed military zone” after hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators protested at the village checkpoint. Five Palestinians were arrested in house raids by the Israeli military in Ya’bad and Tubas.
Solidarity Movement in West Bank
Ceasefire
On 21 November, Mohamed Kamel Amr, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, and Hilary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, announced a ceasefire that would take effect. Yet a day after the ceasefire, Israeli soldiers shot dead a Palestinian farmer and wounded another 19 after they attempted to pray inside the Gazan border. On November 28, Israel opened fire at two fishing boats off the coast of Gaza, and detained nine Gazan fishermen. On November 30, 21-year-old Mahmoud Jaroun, was shot dead by Israeli forces in Rafah. As of February 9 2013, Israel has violated the truce 90 times but this has been largely ignored by the mainstream media.
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FUN AND GAMES
Cartoon by Carlos Latuff
‘Palestinian right to exist’
To see more of Carlos Latuff’s work, visit ‘latuff2.deviantart.com’ and ‘latuffcartoons.wordpress.com’ You can also follow him on Twitter, @CarlosLatuff
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FUN AND GAMES
Prophets of Palestine An extract from The story of Sulayman (AS)
We know Allah (swt) accepted the first two prayers and we hope that Allah (swt) also accepted the last prayer of Sulayman (as). This is a good reason for every Muslim to love Masjid al-Aqsa and try to visit it regularly.
Sulayman (as) achieved many amazing things during his life. The one thing he loved the most was Masjid al-Aqsa.
While he was rebuilding Masjid al-Aqsa, Sulayman (as) made a special dua to Allah (swt) and asked for three things:
Masjid Al-Aqsa was first built by Adam (as) and after hundreds of years it fell apart and it was re-built by Prophet Ibrahim (as). After many years, it fell to ruins again.
First, he asked to be wise so that whatever decision he made between people who were arguing, Allah (swt) would be happy with it.
When Prophet Dawud (as) became king of Jerusalem, he began to rebuild it but he died before it was complete.
The second thing he asked for was a kingdom that no one before or after him would have.
Sulayman (as) and his army of helpers finished rebuilding the blessed Masjid.
Finally, he asked Allah (swt) to forgive the sins of any person who visits Masjid Al-Aqsa and to make that person as pure as the day he or she was born.
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Sulayman (as) knew that he would die soon. However, the building of Masjid al-Aqsa was not complete yet and he was very worried. He stood leaning on his walking stick and watched the workers complete the building. While he was stood there, Sulayman (as) passed away. However, because he was still standing no one realised and they continued to build, until Masjid al-Aqsa was complete!
UNDER 16’s
By Dr. Jacob Huntley As the conclusion to his book Palestinian Walks, Raja Shehadeh chooses to record his encounter with a young Israeli settler whilst walking near Wadi Dalb in the West Bank. He describes how the young Israeli settler and the Palestinian intellectual are able to share a smoke, despite not being able to share the land. Although pleasantly convivial enough, it carries a bleak implication in terms of the positions they represent. Both appreciate the land with a commitment that the other can understand when it is articulated, yet neither can accept that very articulation. Silence, amicable and mutually acceptable, is all that can prevail. In this small encounter, where holding one’s peace relies upon holding one’s tongue, the larger conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians appears to be intractable and irresolvable so long as dialogue and negotiation remain deadlocked. Of course, an absence of dialogue, the suspension of speech, is never any sort of solution. As Yevgeny Yevtushenko reminds us, “When the truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie.” Nur and Abdelwahab Elmessiri note; “Conversation, unless willingly undertaken as such by both parties concerned, leads, so the narrator of ‘A Conversation’ learns, to forgetting about the whole point, namely, the desire to negotiate for a shared commonplace or ground.” It is a salutary reminder that even the plainest speaking can hide the same persuasive undercurrents as the most dazzling rhetoric. Any conversation between the Israelis and the Palestinians as part of a genuine effort to achieve reconciliation must always balance ideology and the desire for that shared commonplace otherwise peace can only ever be a pipe-dream.
Question: What is al-Buraq?
Email your answers to us at: info@aqsa.org.uk Put ‘Competition’ in the subject box, and remember to include your name, address and age and the answer. Good Luck!
While the building was being complete, ants began to eat the bottom part of Sulayman’s (as) walking stick. The stick could not hold Sulayman (as) up anymore and he fell down. Everyone rushed to him and realised that they had been working while Sulayman (as) had passed away! But in that time they had finished all of the building work. This shows us how Allah (swt) answered the prayer of Sulayman (as) and ensured that the building of Masjid al-Aqsa was completed. To purchase this book, and others in the set, please visit, www.foa.org.uk/shop
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RECIPES
Sea Bass with Tagliatelle | try this delicious Mediterranean recipe ● A MEDITERRANEAN
INSPIRED RECIPE OF SPICY FISH AND DELICIOUS TOMATO SAUCE Tagliatelle with Sea Bass and Harissa Sauce
INGREDIENTS 3 garlic cloves 8 shallots, peeled and diced 2 tablespoons olive oil 30g butter 1½ table spoon harissa paste 1 teaspoon ground cumin 4 fillets of sea bass, skin off, cut into 2cm cubes 250ml fish stock 4 tomatoes, skin-off, cubed Zest of a lemon Juice of half a lemon 350g fresh tagliatelle
METHOD ● Sauté the shallots with the butter and oil for 5 minutes on a low heat. Add the garlic and continue to sauté for a further 5 minutes. ● Add the harissa paste, cumin powder and half a teaspoon of salt, and stir. Cook for 2 minutes. Then add the fish, stir, and cook for a further 3 minutes. Put the mixture to one side in a dish. ● Using the same pan, add the stock and boil until slightly reduced. Add chopped tomatoes, half a teaspoon of salt, juice of half a lemon, half a teaspoon of salt, and lemon zest. ● Simmer for 5 minutes, and then remove from the heat. ● Boil the taglietelle according to the cooking instructions. Drain and mix with the tomato sauce. ● Pour in a serving dish, and add the fish mixture on top, stirring through.
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TRAVEL TO PALESTINE
Muslims without Borders Dental Relief
In December 2012, I joined the Muslims without Borders Dental Relief team on a trip to Palestine to offer dental aid to those in need. We came together from all over the world with a vision of providing restorative care to pediatric patients ages 6 to 16. This was an opportunity I had hoped for and dreamed of, since the time I qualified as a dentist over 10 years ago.
By Asid Khan
Our journey into the Occupied West Bank, Palestine; began on the second day. Our team arrived in Nablus following a 6 hour wait at the border. We each prepared our supplies, ready to head out to three different dental clinics and begin our much anticipated work. From Day 2 onwards, the Muslims Without Borders - Dental Relief Branch treated over 200 patients, 150 of whom were Palestinian children with special needs. Some of these youngsters had cerebral palsy; some were deaf and some had down’s syndrome. Amongst the children were orphans who also had special needs. When we met the children, we distributed toys as well as providing the vital dental treatment.
I travelled with a group of ten dental colleagues, and we arrived in Amman, Jordan late at night after an exhausting flight. The excitement about the forthcoming journey was palpable, however, and we knew we were nearly there. Coming into Amman for the first time, we were in awe of the hospitality of the local people. We were hosted by the gracious folks at Qibla Institute who welcomed us and gave us a seminar on everything about Al Quds. They then treated us to an amazing traditional Jordanian dinner called “Mansaf”.
The experience was unforgettable. Touching the lives of these children - who are disadvantaged in so many ways, was incredible and I felt blessed to have been granted the opportunity to offer them some relief. All the faculties we take for granted - speech, sight and hearing, are in one way or another, a major challenge for many of these young people. Meeting them served as a reminder of the ease which many of us take for granted.
The experience left me with innumerable fond memories of the children I met. I will never forget the deaf and mute children whom I treated in Qalqilya, who used sign language to say “I love you”; or the fourteen year old boy who calmly said that, under the occupation, he would probably not survive the next 20 years. Despite their severe medical conditions and trauma, these children were the most amenable pediatric patients our dental team has ever experienced. Seeing the smiles on their faces was one of the most enriching experiences witnessed by the dental relief team, and I am truly honored to have been a part of it.
*Dental Relief was inspired by the international humanitarian efforts of Muslim Without Borders. A group of American Muslim dentists and dental students came together to create a dental humanitarian organization. Dental Relief was established in 2012 to address the lack of access to quality dental care.
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The Gaza Kitchen
Laila El-Haddad’s new book The Gaza Kitchen (co-authored by Maggie Schmitt), celebrates Gaza’s culture and cuisine at a time when this heritage is being threatened by years of siege and blockade. Gaza enjoys a vibrant culture and in recent years this has been eclipsed by bombs and poverty, intended to destroy the people’s way of life. These facts make this book vitally important, as it serves as a reminder of what Gaza symbolises. Gazans have traditionally cooked using an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, with wild greens being used frequently in local dishes. Seafood is a pivotal part of the diet and spices are used generously. Laila El-Haddad is a Gazan living in the USA and her book is intended to celebrate a culture that is under daily threat.
Israel to demolish home of Grand Sheikh in Jerusalem
Israeli occupation authorities have issued eviction and demolition notices on an apartment block in Jerusalem in which the city’s Grand Sheikh lives. The families living within sixteen apartments will be left homeless by the move. Sheikh Ikrama Sabri is one of the Imams at Al-Aqsa Mosque.
ISSUE 51 / FEBRUARY 2013
Palestinians face water crisis as Israel denies fair access to water sources Palestinians continue to face a water crisis as Israel controls every major water source and uses discriminatory policies against Palestinians. In the Gaza Strip, the situation is quickly becoming critical. Amnesty International previously commented that “Israel allows the Palestinians access to only a fraction of the shared water resources, which lie mostly in the occupied West Bank, while the unlawful Israeli settlements there receive virtually unlimited supplies. In Gaza the Israeli blockade has made an already dire situation worse.” (Onatella Rovera, Amnesty International’s researcher on Israel and the OPT) Reports by both the World Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) have
found that the water crisis in Gaza is critical and the damage could be irreversible by 2020. Gaza is almost completely dependent on the coastal aquifer which is now filled by inconsumable sea water. The high levels of salt make 90 per cent of the water from the aquifer unsafe without treatment. An EDM has been tabled in Parliament to bring the issue of the water crisis to the attention of the British government, asking for intervention. Early Day Motion 1062 calls on the Government to recognise the dire water situation faced by Palestinians in Gaza and to lobby Israel to ensure adequate water sources and supplies are restored. TAKE ACTION - ask your MP to sign this EDM.
On this day in history - February 25, 1994
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Shaykh Raed Salah honoured with King Faisal Award for ‘Service to Islam’
The leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel, Sheikh Raed Salah, has won the International King Faisal Award for services to Islam. The International King Faisal Awarding Body said that, “Sheikh Salah won the award for being one of the most prominent personali-
ties in the formation of the Islamic Movement in the Palestinians territories occupied in 1948; the President of the al-Aqsa Foundation for Islamic Sanctuaries; and the first to have discovered the clandestine tunnel digging taking place under the al-Aqsa Mosque.”
A team from the Royal Liverpool Hospital travelled to Gaza to train staff at the Shifa hospital to undertake organ transplants. The Gaza hospital comes under intense pressure each time Israel drops bombs maiming and injuring scores of civilians. The project commenced after a doctor at Shifa hospital pleaded for assistance to help the dire situation faced by staff and patients there. The British volunteer medical team conducted two life-changing kidney transplants. Ziad Matouk and Mohammed Duhair both received kidneys donated by family members.
These men will now be able to provide for their families once more. However, over 500 patients including 40 children, remain in need to transplants and they rely on dialysis two or three times each week to survive. The Shifa hospital suffers daily power cuts and so relies heavily on generators. Spare parts for its dialysis machines are difficult to import due to the blockade. Other supplies such as blood lines, filters and saline, are also scarce. This initiative provided a lifeline for the men involved, and more funding is required to continue the project.
First organ transplant in Gaza
The Ibrahimi Mosque is a sacred site for Muslims as it is the final resting place of Ibrahim (AS), the second most important prophet in Islam. For many years now, Palestinian access to the site has been hampered by Israeli occupation policies. On February 25 1994, the 15th day of Ramadan that year; an extremist named Baruch Goldstein entered the mosque while the dawn Fajr prayers were underway and began a murderous attack on the congregation. Using live
fire, he indiscriminately shot and killed 29 Palestinians and wounded another 125. Over 40 eyewitnesses confirmed that three Israeli guards opened fire as the worshippers fled the mosque following the attack. In the Palestinian demonstrations which ensued following the massacre, a further 25 Palestinians were brutally killed by the occupation forces and many hundreds were left injured. The international community condemned the
attack and the UN Security Council passed Resolution 904 condemning the massacre and calling for measures to protect Palestinian civilians. Baruch Goldstein was a member of several terrorist organisations, including the U.S based Jewish Defence League and Kach which was founded by the maniacal Zionist Rabbi Meir Kahane. In many testimonies after the massacre, it emerged that Israeli authorities were aware of Goldstein’s anti-Palestinian
sentiments and activities but failed to stop him. At Goldstein’s funeral, Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba stated that “since Goldstein did what he did in God’s name, he is to be regarded as a Righteous Man” and asserted that Goldstein was “a martyr of God”; “His hands are innocent, and his heart is pure.” This reflects the degree of hatred towards Palestinians which exists in extreme elements of Israeli society.
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Report Condemns EU Trade with Israeli Settlements
SYRIA EMERGENCY APPEAL £150 can provide a family with an Emergency Relief Pack
Allah will remain committed to helping His servant as long as the servant remains committed to helping his brother. -Sahih Muslim Allah is our witness; we must continue on this path of nusrah. Ummah Welfare Trust is making a renewed appeal for your donations in order to continue supporting Muslims in Syria. When we stand in front of Allah, Glory be to Him, we will not regret the help and money we rendered to the suffering Muslims of Bilaad al Shaam inshaAllah. Please continue to donate.
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A report produced by 22 leading international organisations and NGOs including Christian Aid, the Church of Sweden and the Methodist Church of Norway, has highlighted how European trade policies with Israel are helping to sustain illegal settlements. Titled 'Trading Away Peace: How Europe Helps Sustain Illegal Israeli Settlements’, it reiterates the fact that settlements are “illegal under international law, constitute an obstacle to peace and threaten to make a two-state solution impossible” The report outlines how the EU imports approximately fifteen times more from the illegal settlements than from the Palestinians themselves. Most European countries import settlement products labelled “Made in Israel”, thus denying customers the right under existing EU consumer protection legislation to make informed decisions when they shop. Some Europeanowned companies have invested in settlements and related infrastructure or are providing services to them. Cases that have been reported include G4S (UK/ Denmark), Alstom (France), Veolia (France), and Heidelberg Cement (Germany). A number of recommendations were also made in the report including the need for correct consumer labelling of all settlement products as a minimum measure, as already done by the UK and Denmark. This labelling should also be extended to manufactured products. A further measure would be to discourage businesses from purchasing settlement goods and from all other commercial and investment links with settlements, by means of formal government advice.
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BOYCOTT
The need to boycott Israel is growing The call for boycotting Israel has grown significantly in recent years. The main purpose of this global campaign is to bring Israel to account for its human rights violations against Palestinians. The reason such civil action is necessary is because governments around the world with the power to intervene have repeatedly failed to utilise international legal apparatus to hold Israel to account for its crimes.
Power of the people Successful boycott campaigns have revealed that ordinary people do have the power to act and respond to Palestinian calls for intervention. The destruction of Palestinian infrastructure through Israeli military assaults, routine demolitions of essential resources such as water wells, and blocking access to farmlands; means that Palestinians are unable to freely harvest their lands and bring their produce onto the markets. It is well documented that farmers are attacked by extremist settlers, and shot at by army personnel. Entire initiatives such as the Olive Coopera-
Is it really the 'Produce of Israel'?
Recently, there has also been a move to boycott Israeli produce too, as Israeli companies have been found to breach EU food labelling regulations by labelling settlements goods as ‘Produce of Israel’. By doing this, they mislead consumers into believing that the goods are legitimately farmed in Israel, instead of illegitimately farmed on stolen Palestinian land, often exploiting Palestinian labour.
Full instructions including ‘what to bring?’, training and fundraising, can be found on our website: www.foa.org.uk/walk
tive have been built in response to these attacks, so that international solidarity activists can go to Palestine simply to help farmers harvest their crops and document the violent assaults some face on a daily basis. Peaceful farming is a luxury for Palestinians, yet Israel is exporting its own produce globally and reaping the financial rewards for it. Produce from Israel's exploitation of stolen Palestinian lands in the West Bank illegal settlements should not be allowed to enter European markets, and the boycott campaigns seek to highlight this.
REGISTER TODAY FOA.ORG.UK/WALK
Settlement Profits Recent statistics reveal that illegal settlements profit from exporting their produce to Europe to the tune of 230 million Euros a year. When compared to Palestinian exports, this is fifteen times greater in value. Thus, the EU imports 100 times more produce per illegal Israeli settler than it does per legitimate
Palestinian resident of the West Bank. The success of the boycott campaigns reflects the feeling on the ground. Ordinary Brits do not want to be a part of Israel’s racist and illegal occupation policies, and they do not wish to support the illegal settlements by buying their produce.
British Politicians Oppose Boycott
Both the Conservatives and the Labour Party have both come out against boycott of Israel. David Cameron stated in October 2012: "And to those in Britain’s universities and trades unions who want to boycott Israel and consign it to an international ghetto, I say not only will this Government never allow you to shut down 60 years worth of vibrant exchange and partnership that does so much to make both our countries
stronger but I also say this: we know what you are doing – trying to delegitimise the State of Israel - and we will not have it." The Labour Shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander, recently stated ''it is not Labour policy to support boycotts. We would like to see even stronger economic ties with Israel'. His comments were reported on twitter following a London meeting on 7 February 2013.
European Consumer Labelling laws
The EU is considering making it illegal for Israel to sell produce from the illegal settlements labelled as ‘produce of Israel’. This would
be a marked step towards obstructing settlements from profiting from the land they have stolen.
Produce to Boycott Products to look out for are: dates, citrus fruits and herbs, and manufactured products including cosmetics, carbonation devices, plastics, textile products and toys.
Recently, Morrisons supermarket was found to be selling medjoul dates labelled as ‘Produce of Israel’ but which were in fact from illegal settlements.
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Violent protests at Israeli football match following signing of Muslim players
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Violent protests were seen at an Israeli football match when Chechen Muslim footballer Gabriel Kadiev made his debut for Beitar Jerusalem FC. Fans responded with aggressive racist chants and set the team’s clubhouse on fire. The fans routinely wave huge flags of the outlawed racist Kach party and chant racist slogans toward Arab players. Violence in football has been an ongoing problem
for Israel, and there has been a campaign to portray it as the work of a minority. However, these events reflect how deep the issue runs. Despite the presence of such overt and vitriolic racism in Israel, UEFA has still decided to make Israel the host of the European U-21 Championship in June. FOA strongly opposes UEFA’s decision and calls upon people to protest by joining the ‘red card against Israeli racism’ campaign.
The shortage in power supplies in Gaza is becoming increasingly unbearable for residents. Gazans are without power for over 8 hours every day. The power supply is being rationed as there is a shortage of fuel resulting from Israel’s blockade. Reports of numerous house fires in which small children or entire families
have been killed are increasing. Due to power cuts, families are forced to rely on candles for lighting and this has increased the number of accidents occurring. Gazan’s blame Israel for these avoidable deaths, which result directly from Israel’s inhuman blockade. Hundreds of Palestinian lives have already been lost as a result of it.
Power shortages in Gaza continue
ALK 2013
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